Brandon MacLean and Trevor Bruess, two key players in the Florida Everblades’ Kelly Cup Championship in 2012, have been traded.

MacLean and defenseman Joe Stejskal were dealt to the Gwinnett Gladiators to complete the future considerations clause of a March 13 deal in which the Blades also sent Mike Merrifield and Eriks Sevcenko to Gwinnett in exchange for forward Evan Bloodoff and defenseman Rob Kwiet.

Bruess and forward A.J. Jenks were sent to the Toledo Walleye to complete the terms of a pair of trades made last season on Feb. 24 and March 7 in which Florida received forward Aaron Bogosian and goaltender Mac Carruth.

“Yeah, it certainly was (tough to trade MacLean and Bruess),” Everblades president and general manager Craig Brush said. “Both are great guys and good players.

“There were promises made after deals we made to help us in the stretch run. And there’s time when players who have been in one place are probably better to move on.”

MacLean scored the Kelly Cup-winning goal in overtime as Florida beat Las Vegas in five games. It was the Everblades’ first and only title.

Bruess and MacLean combined for nine goals and 12 assists in the 2012 postseason.

This past year, MacLean had 22 goals and 41 assists in 60 games while Bruess had 14 goals and 23 assists in 61 games. Florida missed the postseason for the first time in team history.

The Everblades now can start signing players. With forward and captain Mathieu Roy leaving to play in Norway, Florida’s roster will have almost an entirely new look with a captain being needed.

By nature, ECHL rosters are overturned by half to two-thirds from year to year. While Brush said some of the deals may be coincidental, he also said not making the playoffs played a role in the decision.

“If you don’t succeed, you have to make changes,” he said. “You don’t need to do the same thing again, right?”